A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Sarah Jefferson, Edith Cowan University The first signs were the half-eaten lunches coming home from high school. This was in stark contrast to the primary school years, where the box looked as if a demolition team had run through it with only a few crumbs left. The problem was finally disclosed over a quiet [...]
Christine Grové, Monash University and Alexandra Marinucci, Monash University School attendance levels in Australia are a massive issue according to Education Minister Jason Clare. As he told reporters last week, he hopes to talk to state colleagues about the issue at a meeting later this month. There’s evidence that school attendance rates have been [...]
Sarah Jefferson, Edith Cowan University Grit. Don’t quit. That’s the mantra many parents may have in mind when they, like me, spend what feels like years ferrying children to a seemingly endless variety of sports and activities. From enduring sheets of almost vertical icy rain while cheering them on a hockey pitch, to obscenely [...]
Mark Patrick Taylor, Macquarie University; Carlos Ibañez del Rivero, Macquarie University, and Kara Fry, Macquarie University We know everything in our homes gathers dust. What you probably don’t know is whether there are toxic contaminants in your house dust, and where these might come from. Our newly published research found most of the dust [...]
Vanessa Cobham, The University of Queensland Many children come down with a case of the back-to-school blues as summer slips away. Having spent the holidays staying up late and having fun with friends and family, it can be a struggle to get back into a routine. For some children, going back to school can also [...]
Kate Highfield, Australian Catholic University Around Australia, about 320,000 children are starting school for the first time. As an early childhood researcher, former kindergarten teacher, and parent of a child beginning school on Monday, this transition fascinates me. Culturally we place so much importance on this time. Everyone from the lovely cashier at the supermarket, [...]
Lisa Olive, Deakin University Nothing clears the mind like going for a surf. With the escapism and simplicity of riding waves, it’s no secret that surfing feels good. Now our preliminary study in children and adolescents adds to growing evidence that surfing really is good for your mental health. But you don’t have to [...]
Jane Turner Goldsmith, University of Adelaide The oldest known library, dating back to the second millennium BC, in Thebes, Egypt, reportedly bore a sign above its portals in Greek: Psyches Iatreion, translated as “healing place of the soul”. The idea that reading may confer healing benefits is not new, but continues to intrigue readers [...]
Michael Good, Griffith University Group A streptococci, also known as “strep A”, were the first organisms ever identified to be the cause of a disease. In the mid-1800s, Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis first noted the link between a lack of hygienic practices – such as handwashing – among medical staff and puerperal (or childbirth) [...]
Joshua Trigg, Flinders University and Billie Bonevski, Flinders University You’ve dropped your daughter off at her friend’s house and while cleaning the car, you find what looks like a USB drive on the passenger seat. It’s a disposable vape. You’ve seen the news. Vapes or e-cigarettes are harmful yet increasingly popular with people her age. [...]
